It’s absolutely crazy to say this because it feels like the season started literally yesterday, but it’s already the third week of the MLB circus. The injuries continue to pile up, players continue to underperform and fantasy owners are avidly visiting their player’s page to find the best free agents available.

 

10-team leagues

Corey Dickerson, TB OF (37% ownership), FAAB Bid - $10 – Dickerson’s first year in Tampa was not nearly as successful as the Rays had hoped for, but he’s off to a fast start in 2017. Hitting leadoff for the club, he’s already belted two home runs, driven in four runs and is hitting .310. Dickerson especially excels against right-handed pitching. In  ’16 he slugged .510, posted a .807 OPS and .334 wOBA. He’s not your prototypical leadoff hitter as he strikes out a bunch and has a career .326 on-base percentage, but it’s paid off in the early stages of the season.

Joaquin Benoit, PHI RP (44% ownership), FAAB Bid - $10-12 – Although we’re still in the Hector Neris camp, for now Benoit gets the nod as Phillies closer. That being said, Benoit has some gaudy peripheral stats a lot of us aren’t aware of that could help him keep this job for the long haul. Well, at least until the trade deadline. Since 2015, opponents against Benoit have a miss rate of 41.6-percent, which ranks him third amongst all major league relievers. He’s also virtually unhittable for RHH, as in the same time frame, they have a .239 slugging percentage in 205 at-bats, which ranks him third out of 144 qualified RP. Benoit is a prime trade candidate come the deadline, which will open the door for Neris, but for now, Benoit is the guy to own.

Joey Gallo, TEX 3B (11% ownership), FAAB Bid - $8-10 – Being hesitant about Gallo is understandable, but now that Adrian Beltre had a setback with his calf, Gallo is someone who should be owned in almost all formats. He has light tower power that he’s put on display twice thus far in 2017, but he’s also struck out 10 times in 23 at-bats. If you can afford the lows and we do we seriously low, Gallo is your guy. He could reward you with some monster games until Beltre returns, whenever that may be.

 

12-team leagues

Chase Headley, NYY 3B (19% ownership), FAAB Bid - $7-8 – We’re sure it couldn’t feel better to get off to the start Headley has gotten off to after last seasons .150 average throughout all of March and April. Headley had unusual success against relief pitchers in the second half of 2016, amassing a .405 OBP against them in 84 at-bats, which was 16th best in all of baseball. Third base is a loaded position and his 1.15 OPS isn’t sustainable, but Headley looks more like the guy that finished 5th in the 2012 NL MVP race than last years version. He’s a nice utility/bench option to have.

James Shields, CWS SP (9% ownership), FAAB Bid - $8 – Do we dare say the James Shields of old is finally returning? In 10.2 innings this season Shields has allowed just two runs, four hits and has struck out 11. Shields simply hasn’t been good since heading out to the West Coast after getting a big shiny contract with the Padres. His current 8.44 K/9 rate would be the third highest mark of his career if he were able to sustain it. Shields is worth the addition while he pitches well.

 

15-team leagues

James McCann, DET C (10% ownership), FAAB Bid - $3 – McCann is someone worth scooping up in deep formats, especially with this recent power surge he’s on. He’s now homered in three of his last four games. McCann does have some pop as he hit 12 bombs last year in just 344 at-bats. This home run thing doesn’t seem to be a fluke, either. From 2015 to 2016, his fly ball rate jumped from 27 to 40, which also helped his hard contact percentage to rise from 27 to 34. Buster Posey and Gary Sanchez owners would be most inclined to pick up McCann as both of those players have landed on the DL.

Ronald Torreyes, NYY 2B, 3B, SS (4% ownership), FAAB Bid - $1 – There are a few reasons as to why somebody would want the Yankees diminutive shortstop but a few as to why we’d only bid one stinkin’ dollar for him. First off, he’s driving in runs like a mad men, something he’s never done throughout his career. Not only does he lead the team with eight RBI, but he’s going to continue playing everyday until Didi Gregorius returns, which could be sometime in May but his return seems pretty speculative up to this point. Which is brings us to why we’d only bid a dollar, because he’s only useful for so long. Once Gregorius returns, whatever value Torreyes had, falls to the wayside.

 

*ownership percentages courtesy of Yahoo

** FAAB bids based on $100 budge